Machine Production of Chive Boxes and Stuffed Pancakes: Encrusting, Flattening, and Preventing Water Release

Chive boxes (韭菜盒) and stuffed pancakes (餡餅) are northern Chinese flour foods commonly found in Taiwan's breakfast shops, noodle restaurants, and frozen foods. Both have the structure "dough wrapped around filling, flattened, and then pan-fried"; the difference is the shape: chive boxes are mostly half-moon shaped, while stuffed pancakes are mostly round.

Can Chive Boxes Be Wrapped by Machine?

Yes. Mechanization is usually divided into two stages:

1. Encrusting: An encrusting machine wraps the filling in dough to form balls.
2. Shaping: The balls are flattened into round pancakes (stuffed pancakes) or pressed into half-moons (chive boxes).

The encrusting machine peripherals on the website of Japan's RHEON include a "Half Moon Stamper" (ハーフムーンスタンパー), described as pressing products into half-moon shapes; the wagashi products also include "oyaki" (おやき, a filled pan-fried bun from the Nagano area of Japan). This shows that encrusting and then pressing into half-moons or round pancakes is a common extended application of encrusting machines.

Another method is the wrapper-placing type: filling is placed on a rolled-out round wrapper, which is folded in half with the edges pressed to make half-moon chive boxes, and the edges can be crimped with a pattern.

Flattening Stuffed Pancakes After Wrapping

Key points for pressing wrapped balls into flat round pancakes:

• Timing of flattening: Let them rest slightly after wrapping before pressing, so the dough is less likely to tear.
• Thickness: Too thin and the filling bursts out easily; too thick and they will not cook through. Pressing equipment can fix the thickness and diameter.
• Dough recipe: Stuffed pancakes often use hot-water or half hot-water dough, which is soft and extensible and does not crack easily when pressed.
• Seal side down: By hand, the seal is usually placed face down before flattening, so the orientation at the machine outlet also needs to be considered.

Dong-Yih Machinery's lines of business include pancake presses and automatic encrusting and forming machines. Our website does not list specifications or suitable products for these two types of machines; to find out whether they suit chive boxes or stuffed pancakes, please call 06-257-4644.

How Do You Deal with Water Released by Chives?

Chinese chives have a high water content, and once chopped, they release a lot of water as soon as they come into contact with salt. The water makes the dough wet and soft and sticky on the machine, and the pancakes burst and spatter oil during frying. Common solutions:

• Wash and drain thoroughly: They must be dry before chopping, with no water on the surface.
• Mix with oil first: Toss the chopped chives with a layer of oil so the oil film coats the cut edges and slows water release.
• Add salt last: Add salt just before wrapping; do not salt in advance.
• Add absorbent ingredients: Common additions such as glass noodles (softened and cut into lengths), scrambled egg, and diced dried tofu absorb some of the water and also help the filling bind.
• Mix filling in batches: If too much is mixed at once, it gets wetter and wetter as it sits in the hopper. In machine production, it is best to mix in batches according to output and use it up quickly.

For pork and beef stuffed pancakes, pay attention to the stickiness and juiciness of the meat filling: a common method is to beat water or stock into the meat in several additions so it absorbs the liquid and becomes sticky, giving juice when pan-fried without leaking.

Frozen Chive Boxes and Stuffed Pancakes

• Blast freeze as soon as possible after wrapping and flattening, so the filling does not keep releasing water at room temperature.
• Separate each piece with film to prevent sticking; separator film is a food packaging material and must comply with the Sanitation Standard for Food Utensils, Containers and Packaging (食品器具容器包裝衛生標準).
• For frozen transport, under Article 8 of the Regulations on Good Hygiene Practice for Food (食品良好衛生規範準則), the ambient temperature of frozen compartments must not be higher than -12°C.

Cleaning and Safety

Bits of chive and meat filling easily get stuck in the crevices of encrusting machines and pressing equipment, so disassemble and wash them after work. Before disassembly and washing, stop the machine, cut the power, and apply lockout/tagout in accordance with Article 57 of the Occupational Safety and Health Facilities Regulations (職業安全衛生設施規則).

FAQ

Q: Can chive boxes be made by machine?
A: Yes. The common method is to wrap them into balls with an encrusting machine and then press them into half-moons, or to use a wrapper-placing machine that folds the wrapper and presses the edges.

Q: How are machine-wrapped stuffed pancakes flattened?
A: Let them rest slightly after wrapping, then press them with pressing equipment to a fixed thickness and diameter. Placing the seal side down helps prevent tearing.

Q: What should I do if the chives keep releasing water?
A: Wash and drain them, toss the chopped chives with oil first, add salt only just before wrapping, add absorbent ingredients such as glass noodles and scrambled egg, and mix the filling in batches.

Q: Does Dong-Yih have a chive box machine?
A: Dong-Yih's lines of business include pancake presses and automatic encrusting and forming machines, but our website does not list specifications or suitable products. Please call us.